1918: Austria declares itself a republic, rejecting the Habsburg dynasty that had dominated Europe since 1267.
1944: The last great German battleship, 'Tirpitz', is sunk by RAF bombers in Tromso fjord, Norway.
1948: Former Japanese prime minister Hikedi Tojo and seven other wartime leaders are sentenced to death.
Convoy threat
The powerful German battleship Tirpitz, sister of Bismarck sunk at sea after a long and difficult chase in 1941, exerted a powerful influence on the Royal Navy.
Tirpitz was the centrepiece of the German surface forces ...
She was the centrepiece of the German surface forces based in Norway, threatening the Arctic convoys to Russia. A break-out into the Atlantic could not be ruled out. Disabling her would do much to solve a core problem of Allied maritime strategy, but bombing her in her defended anchorages was difficult with the available aircraft and weapons.
More novel approaches were tried. In October 1942, a daring attempt to use chariot 'human torpedoes' failed because of bad weather. Tirpitz was nonetheless disabled by an extensive self-maintenance period over the winter, but in March she was mobile once more and moved to the inaccessible fastness of Kaa Fiord at the head of Alta Fiord in the far north, where she formed the centrepiece of a powerful battle group.
Midget submarines
An X-craft prior to launch Kaa Fiord was out of bomber range, so the British decided on another underwater solution - the X-craft. This was a true midget submarine, 51ft long and 5ft in diameter, powered by diesel and battery propulsion.
Manned by three men - later increased to four - the X-craft was intended to drop two powerful 'side cargoes' under the target, each loaded with over a ton-and-a-half of Amatex high explosive.
It was out of bomber range, so the British chose an underwater solution ...
The concept was the brainchild of Commander Cromwell-Varley, a retired submariner who had enlisted the support of both Max Horton, Flag Officer Submarines, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill himself.
The first trials X-craft were launched in March 1942 and the six boats intended for operational use, numbered X-5 to X-10, were delivered in early 1943.
It was originally planned to make the attack as soon was possible, but Horton's successor, Admiral Barry, worried about the need for maximum training time with the tricky little craft. He postponed the attack until after the Arctic summer.
1944: The last great German battleship, 'Tirpitz', is sunk by RAF bombers in Tromso fjord, Norway.
1948: Former Japanese prime minister Hikedi Tojo and seven other wartime leaders are sentenced to death.
Convoy threat
The powerful German battleship Tirpitz, sister of Bismarck sunk at sea after a long and difficult chase in 1941, exerted a powerful influence on the Royal Navy.
Tirpitz was the centrepiece of the German surface forces ...
She was the centrepiece of the German surface forces based in Norway, threatening the Arctic convoys to Russia. A break-out into the Atlantic could not be ruled out. Disabling her would do much to solve a core problem of Allied maritime strategy, but bombing her in her defended anchorages was difficult with the available aircraft and weapons.
More novel approaches were tried. In October 1942, a daring attempt to use chariot 'human torpedoes' failed because of bad weather. Tirpitz was nonetheless disabled by an extensive self-maintenance period over the winter, but in March she was mobile once more and moved to the inaccessible fastness of Kaa Fiord at the head of Alta Fiord in the far north, where she formed the centrepiece of a powerful battle group.
Midget submarines
An X-craft prior to launch Kaa Fiord was out of bomber range, so the British decided on another underwater solution - the X-craft. This was a true midget submarine, 51ft long and 5ft in diameter, powered by diesel and battery propulsion.
Manned by three men - later increased to four - the X-craft was intended to drop two powerful 'side cargoes' under the target, each loaded with over a ton-and-a-half of Amatex high explosive.
It was out of bomber range, so the British chose an underwater solution ...
The concept was the brainchild of Commander Cromwell-Varley, a retired submariner who had enlisted the support of both Max Horton, Flag Officer Submarines, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill himself.
The first trials X-craft were launched in March 1942 and the six boats intended for operational use, numbered X-5 to X-10, were delivered in early 1943.
It was originally planned to make the attack as soon was possible, but Horton's successor, Admiral Barry, worried about the need for maximum training time with the tricky little craft. He postponed the attack until after the Arctic summer.
